Summary
Émile Vieuzac (Milou) lives with his mother in a grand country house in provincial
France. When his mother dies suddenly, he invites a whole host of relatives to the
house to hear the will and attend the funeral. This is at the time of the student
uprising in 1968, with food and petrol shortages, and wild confrontations between police
and protesters in Paris. At first, Milou and his relatives argue about how his mother’s
estate should be shared out between them. Then, as their concerns over the student
uprising grow, they flee the house, fearful of a peasant revolt against the bourgeoisie.
Then it starts to rain...
Review
Whilst not as imposing as some of his earlier films, Milou en Mai is a popular
Louis Malle film, having a feeling of warmth and humanity which is not so visible in those
films.
This is a light satire on bourgeois society, and a very funny one at that. Not quite
as blatant as Bunuel’s Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie, Malle’s film merely
pokes fun at the French middle-class, particularly their tendency to over-dramatise things
which upset their daily routine. Setting the film at the time of the 1968 riots
works very well, both serving as a suitable backdrop and also providing great potential
for comic development (most of which is realised).
The film boasts some excellent characters which Malle plays off against each other very
well. Michel Piccoli plays the sympathetic Milou as if had lived the part all his
life, and there is admirable support from Miou-Miou and Michel Duchaussoy - with a bonus
presence from English actress Harriet Walter.
© James Travers 2000
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